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JOB • CHAPTER 35
Job 35
Innocent suffering, divine justice, friendship, protest, wisdom, the limits of human explanation, and God's response from the whirlwind.
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Job 35
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
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Moreover Elihu answered,
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“Do you think this to be your right,
or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
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that you ask, ‘What advantage will it be to you?
What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
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I will answer you,
and your companions with you.
and your companions with you.
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Look to the skies, and see.
See the skies, which are higher than you.
See the skies, which are higher than you.
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If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him?
If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
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If you are righteous, what do you give him?
Or what does he receive from your hand?
Or what does he receive from your hand?
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Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are,
and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
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“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out.
They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
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But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
who gives songs in the night,
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who teaches us more than the animals of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
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There they cry, but no one answers,
because of the pride of evil men.
because of the pride of evil men.
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Surely God will not hear an empty cry,
neither will the Almighty regard it.
neither will the Almighty regard it.
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How much less when you say you don’t see him.
The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
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But now, because he has not visited in his anger,
neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
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Therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk,
and he multiplies words without knowledge.”
and he multiplies words without knowledge.”
WISDOM
Where this chapter fits
Job belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
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